


We Happened in Vegas

by Zaxaryah



Series: Vegas AU [1]
Category: VIXX
Genre: M/M, Vague mentions of HongBin and Ken and maybe Hyuk, Vegas AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 06:49:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14255310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zaxaryah/pseuds/Zaxaryah
Summary: HakYeon... erm, "meets" Leo in Vegas.





	1. Sunday

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy ;)

“Oi, HakYeon-goon! Aren’t you gonna play? Not even for a little bit?”

“Ah, no thanks. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“Eiii! Boring! You’re just afraid you’ll lose everything!”

That was true. Rather than wasting the money he had properly earned from spending his valuable time working, he preferred to upkeep the stereotype of an Asian tourist.

 _Click_ went his phone again. People bustled by on both sides of where he stood on the sidewalk. It was the first time he’d ever been to Las Vegas; who could blame him for wanting to take a million pictures of the iconic city? His coworkers could jeer as much as they wanted.

Cha HakYeon, originally from Seoul, was on a business trip in Las Vegas with a handful of colleagues from his office, a band of number crunchers. He was a ho-hum salary man, white collar and necktie-type of job, who jumped at the opportunity to travel across the ocean for a ho-hum conference with their sister company in the States, in wild and eyebrow-raising Vegas, nonetheless.

However, he wasn’t all too interested in the “usual”s of Sin City – gambling and the “shows” were all his coworkers kept yammering about the weeks before the trip. He had chosen to stay in the city three days longer than how long his company was paying for the conference. If he was going to fly all the way to the other side of the globe, he may as well make it a proper vacation.

He clapped with the rest of the crowd as the show in front of the Bellagio finished. He figured he should wrap up his day soon and return to his hotel room, what with his phone swiftly running out of battery. Turning on his heel, he continued up the sidewalk to search out the hotel he had planned to reach by the end of the day, his full week’s itinerary carved into memory.

Just another hotel, another casino, more loud noises from the machines, and the second-hand-smoke smell too strong to be masked by whatever fragrance the hotel tried to use. He trotted through all of that, though, to get to the restaurant shoved to the side.

 _Heok_. Of course the menu would be in English. Of course he’d neglect to touch up his meager English capacity even though he’d known about this conference for about a month. He halfway considered skipping back to the Korean barbecue spot well hidden behind the food court in the middle of the Strip until he caught a glance at the person working the cash register.

HakYeon cautiously stepped up to the counter when the customer in front of him sauntered off to the side, receipt in hand. The cashier’s nametag read “Leo.” “Welcome to Carnegie Deli,” the man rattled off in English. “How can I help you?”

Maybe HakYeon was wrong. “Emmm…”

The man was somewhat intimidating. His pointed eyes glared down into HakYeon’s. HakYeon thought of himself as tall; compared to most of his family and friends and general citizens of Korea, he was a tower. This guy, however, was a skyscraper, but at least he seemed to be slouching, so the difference wasn’t as bad.

He continued to stare while HakYeon floundered. Finally, a corner of his lips barely twitched upward. “I can speak Korean,” he offered in Korean, “if you need me to.”

HakYeon almost died. “Ah! What a relief! Are you Korean?”

“I am.”

“Ummm… could you help me with the menu? I’m sorry. I suck at English.”

“Any food restrictions?”

“No, not really.”

“This one.” Leo’s hand reached out, and he tapped on a sandwich of some sort. “I hope you like meat.”

“I’m fine with that.”

Leo smirked as he punched a few buttons. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here for work. We have a two-day conference over at MGM.”

“Mm.”

He slid the itemized receipt across the counter toward HakYeon. _Heok_. Why is everything in Vegas so expensive?

_Ah. But when you factor in… minus expenses… and then…_

“Sonnim.”

HakYeon jumped. “Eh?”

“Are you… done with that?”

He looked down. Within a matter of seconds, he’d just scribbled through the margins of the receipt with a bunch of numbers. But he’d finally worked out costs and budget for–

“Ah, yeah. Sorry.”

Leo took back the receipt plus HakYeon’s card, studying it carefully. He eyeballed HakYeon. Thinking he may have written something wrong, HakYeon started to sweat, but Leo just calmly handed back his card.

“Will you be dining in or taking out?”

“Er… ah… Dine in.”

“Have a seat wherever you like. We’ll bring you your order in a few minutes.”

“R-right. Thanks.”

Somehow, he made it to a two-seater booth along the wall, his mind jumbled together with numbers and after-images of that cashier. Yes, HakYeon had been staring; that Leo character is a handsome guy, after all. No, it’s a total coincidence that HakYeon decided to take a seat that faced the counter.

 _No, no, no_. Even though he was on vacation, at the moment, he was still working. He needed to think about the paperwork he’d have to deal with when he gets back home. But Leo isn’t a Korean name… _I wonder what his Korean name is…_

An American server slid a plate onto the table before him. Ah. Of course he had other things to think about: His food budget would have to be severely reconsidered. After thanking the server, he brandished a pen from his pocket in one hand and set to work.

HakYeon is a complete math nerd. His napkin was covered in equations within minutes. His attention was only brought back to the table when he saw his glass of water disappear from the corner of his eye. He looked up quickly to see Leo calmly refilling the glass.

“Is the food to your liking?” he asked.

“Ah. Yeah. Thank you for the recommendation.”

“Mm.”

He had some sort of knowing stare in that half second when their eyes met again. Then he was turning away to attend to another table’s empty glasses. HakYeon couldn’t stop himself from staring, but when he finally finished his food, he managed to escape the restaurant without being a complete idiot, only raising a hand in Leo’s direction. HakYeon didn’t know if he saw or not. It shouldn’t matter.

He opted out of hopping on the monorail, choosing instead to walk back down the strip to the MGM Hotel where his room was. Taking the monorail was part of his original plan, arriving back at his room early so he could prepare for the first part of the conference early in the morning the next day. But he needed to walk. If anything, he needed the fresh air to clear out his mind. Dodging the nightlife crowd proved to be a medium task, avoiding the ones in fluorescent vests snapping cards with pictures of naked women on them and mumbling out Korean to repel panhandlers and transients.

He finally strode through the glass doors of his hotel, the sight of the golden lion and the heavy perfume snapping him out of his thoughts. He figured the walk would help, but his mind was still whirling. _Did they drug my food or something…?_

Finally, finally, HakYeon made it to his room. Sighing heavily, he fell backward onto his bed. It was only then that he realized his leg muscles were tense. Did he run back to his hotel? Maybe he did because he was mentally and physically exhausted.

It was still early enough. He had enough time to take a shower and relax before he went to bed, but he didn’t have the energy to get up. He didn’t even have the energy to get up to turn on a light, his room only washed in the vivid green of the outside lights.

He didn’t know how long he lay there, probably dozing. But he suddenly snapped awake at the sound of two knocks. His eyes popped open, and he sat up. He looked around for a bit, regaining his bearings. It was still that same evening, a few minutes after eleven. Surely no one would be knocking on his door at that time.

Knocks again. Maybe it was one of his coworkers. Maybe they got outright drunk and were being bothersome. HakYeon sighed, grunting as he stood and slumped to the door. He wrenched it open without even thinking, almost ready with a few choice words to tell these idiots about knocking on other people’s doors, but they died in his throat as the light from the hallway spilled into his dark room.

Leo casually stood on the other side of the threshold.

“Eh…? Uh…? Wha?” HakYeon sputtered. “What are you doing here?”

Leo just tilted his head quizzically, reaching out a hand to push HakYeon back into the room. HakYeon yelped, stumbling backwards on graceful feet. Leo followed him in, and the door shut behind them, the two shrouded in the dark save for the green glow outside.

He still didn’t reply, only moving to slowly remove his tie. HakYeon should’ve been thinking smarter. He should’ve thought, _There’s a person I only just met a few hours ago in my room. I should call the police. He’s taking off his tie. He’s gonna strangle me. I’m gonna get murdered. I’m gonna die in Vegas._ But he could only stare back into Leo’s eyes, hypnotized.

Maybe they did drug his food. Leo reached out and pushed HakYeon again. The back of his knees hit the edge of the bed, and he toppled over, not even noticing his hands being pushed above his head. It took about three buttons of his shirt being undone with lips pressing against his sternum accompanied by an involuntary shiver that he suddenly realized–

“Yah yah wait wait wait _what the hell_?!” That’s when he realized his hands were crossed above his head, bound at the wrists by the tie that Leo had just been wearing.

If he could’ve, maybe he would’ve flailed off the bed to get away. But Leo had him pinned down completely, a hand holding his wrists down as he sat back on HakYeon’s thighs. _WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!_

Of course, Leo offered no reply, continuing to unbutton HakYeon’s shirt while barely brushing his lips against his abdomen. HakYeon couldn’t suppress his reactions to the touch, shivering from either his bare skin exposed to the cold air of the room or every time Leo’s lips made contact, more so when his fingers trailed up his side.

HakYeon struggled again to speak. “Yah… You… What are you doing?!”

“You requested me, didn’t you?” Leo simply replied.

“Eh?!”

Of course, Leo took that moment to drag his tongue along a nipple. HakYeon gasped, arching off of the bed. He could feel a warm puff of air on his chest – Leo probably snorting at his weak will – before Leo’s mouth closed entirely over the nipple, abusing it with his tongue. HakYeon let out a pitiful moan as he futilely writhed in his spot from the sensation, still solidly pinned under Leo’s weight. Too far gone was he to notice Leo’s hand pushing down his pants to stroke his swelling member.

HakYeon had zero-percent awareness, filthily panting and moaning from Leo’s ministrations. It hardly crossed his mind that this _probably shouldn’t be happening_. Hardly. He caught a glance of Leo rolling on a condom, and his mind snapped back again.

“Wait…” He bit back another moan triggered by another languid stroke of Leo’s hand. “Wait wait stop yah hang on!”

“Now what?” Leo sounded annoyed this time.

“You… I still don’t…”

The mystery cashier sat back, settling himself between HakYeon’s legs while lazily stroking his own erection with a lube-slick hand. “Don’t tell me… this is your first time?”

“W-what?! No, of course not!”

“So you’re saying you don’t want this?”

“I…” What’s with the hesitation, HakYeon? This is completely _wrong_ and _so Vegas_. “… that’s… not it…”

“Then there’s no issue.”

Of course there was an issue. In what universe would there not be an issue? There was a very big glaring issue, and it was very threateningly _between HakYeon’s legs._

The issue was that the last time HakYeon had gotten sexual with anyone was with his now-ex-boyfriend, and said boyfriend was bottom, definitely bottom. Said boyfriend liked it that way, so they never changed. And they broke up over a year ago.

In other words, HakYeon was so not ready for this.

Fortunately, Leo seemed to be perceptive to HakYeon’s anxiety, leaning over to trail gentle bites along his collarbone and shoulders as a lubed finger teased at his entrance. HakYeon hissed when Leo slowly pushed the finger in, squirming at the intrusion.

“You need to relax,” Leo whispered in HakYeon’s ear.

“C-can’t… I…”

HakYeon gasped as Leo nipped at his earlobe, coaxing another finger in at the same time. He couldn’t stop the noises that spilled from his mouth, everything _too hot_ that his thoughts were turning into a muddled haze. There was a fiery knot growing in the pit of his stomach with each push of Leo’s fingers. As wrong as it should have been, HakYeon could hear himself rasping, begging for more. _No no no this isn’t supposed to–_

His breath caught in his throat. _When did this happen?_ Leo’s fingers were gone and he was already pushing in. HakYeon almost cried out, the fire burning him up inside and out. Leo’s hands had moved to hold down HakYeon’s hips as he guided himself all the way in.

“ _Relax_ ,” Leo repeated.

He ghosted a trail with his lips along the long column of HakYeon’s neck. As much as Leo reminded him, HakYeon found it ridiculously difficult to release the muscles in every part of his body. He tried instead to focus on the light touches, the soft movements Leo’s hands made along his waist, hips, legs.

_Dear HongBin-ah, I just wanted to let you know that if there was ever a time when you thought you were going to die whenever we had sex, I wholeheartedly apologize. I hope you’re living happily somewhere._

It took HakYeon half a second to send out his mental message before Leo started to thrust, and his mind was rendered useless again. He squeezed his eyes shut, the fiery lightning becoming too much to handle. Leo kept his movements slow and controlled, but HakYeon could hear his breathing become harsh, shuddering more and more.

He hit something. HakYeon cried out, arching clear off the bed. Leo gripped HakYeon’s hips harder, aiming his thrusts to hit that spot again. Every time he did, HakYeon gasped and moaned noisily, probably not even caring if there was anyone in the next room over. He twisted his bound hands around to claw at the sheets and pillows above his head.

“S-shit… I’m – ”

His orgasm rocked every cell of his being, coming hard all over his torso. Even though his mouth fell open, there was no voice left to his shallow breaths. He could feel himself clenching hard around Leo. HakYeon heard Leo hiss, his thrusts stuttering erratically. He knew when Leo came, too, his hands clamping bruises into HakYeon’s hips, letting out small gasps through gritted teeth.

He couldn’t move for a long time. It had certainly been way too long since he’d ever come as hard as that. He just lay unmoving and tried to control his breathing to calm his racing heart. His breath got caught when Leo shifted, still inside him, leaning over to reclaim his tie. As he slowly pulled out, HakYeon didn’t even stop the low whine that rose from his throat.

He could hear Leo chuckle somewhere in front of him. When he finally found the strength to open his eyes, Leo was already fully dressed, hair all in order and hands deftly tying the necktie back in place.

“Thanks for the service,” Leo said.

And then he turned and disappeared into the darkness, HakYeon’s hotel-room door opening and closing.


	2. Monday

HakYeon couldn’t concentrate.

It would’ve been easier if he could’ve written it off as a dream. A wild, Vegas-induced dream. But the red bite marks that littered his body and shoulders said otherwise (at least those were covered by his clothes, thank every deity). The used condom haphazardly tossed in the trash can by the desk said otherwise. The pain up and down his back and his backside said _everything_ otherwise.

_WHAT THE HELL._

It’s a good thing HakYeon didn’t have too much rank in his company, so he didn’t really have to participate in the conference. He tried to take notes when he managed to force his brain to focus on what the speakers and translators were saying. But then the words would run together, and his mind would wander to the pointed eyes of the deli’s cashier.

_WHAT THE HELL._

“Oi, HakYeon-goon!” During the lunch break, his coworkers shouted out to him. “Where did you go yesterday? We were looking for you so we could have dinner together.”

HakYeon took a spot at the same table. “Ah, I went to have dinner on my own. Sorry.”

“That’s fine. We ended up eating really late, anyway.”

“Yah, you disappeared so quickly! What did you even do all by yourself?”

“He went and got a hooker. I bet he was up all night.”

 _IT MAKES SENSE NOW._ HakYeon spewed his drink across the table. “YAH! YOU!!”

“Augh, gross!”

“What?!”

“You set me up, didn’t you?!”

“Eh?! You seriously got a hooker?!”

“No! One freakin’ came to my door last night! Who did this?!”

“WHAT?! HAHAHAHAHA–!!!”

“KangJoo, you did _what_?!”

“No, I didn’t do anything! I don’t even know where your room is!”

“Who does?! I wanna congratulate him!”

The table fell to silence as each man looked back and forth at each other. HakYeon’s eyes flitted from one person to another, each one looking just as clueless as the last.

“No one… did that?” HakYeon asked.

“Maybe no one at this table. There’s still other people who could’ve done it. DongMin, maybe.”

“WAIT! HakYeon-goon, don’t tell me you…?!”

HakYeon almost choked. “NO! I kicked him out!”

“HAHAHAHA, OH GOD!”

“Damn it, HakYeon! You could’ve gotten laid! Maybe you wouldn’t be such a stick in the mud!”

“Shut up!”

Okay, so maybe his coworkers weren’t behind it. But HakYeon was determined to figure out what was going on. He just had to endure the rest of the conference, and he’d go back to that deli to set things straight.

“Oh, you must mean Leo. He’s off today.”

The American cashier repeated what she said slowly since it seemed like HakYeon didn’t understand it the first time. He didn’t. He got it the second time, and he got pissed. He still put on a smile, thanked the girl for her help, and left.

 _Now what?_ He hit the Spin button again. HakYeon had aimlessly migrated to the Monte Carlo, drawing a blank on what his next step should be. He was still blank as he plopped himself in front of a machine, feeding it a small bill and betting the least amount he could. The reels whirled around and landed… on nothing. He hit the button again. _I should just ignore it and continue on with this vacation. The chances of seeing him again are maybe fourteen percent, twenty-seven if I stake out the restaurant. But why should I have to stalk this guy when–_

“I heard you were looking for me,” a voice murmured into HakYeon’s ear.

He yelped, flailed in his chair, and kicked the machine in the process. It honked in protest, but HakYeon ignored it, jumping to his feet. Bad idea. His butt also ached from the wild movement, and he wobbled in his attempt to stand straight.

“YOU!!!”

“Wow.”

Leo stood before him again, this time sporting regular clothes and a cup of coffee. He innocently stared back at HakYeon, completely ignoring the finger pointing accusingly at his face.

“You– How did you find me?!” Maybe it slipped HakYeon’s mind that he was the one trying to find Leo.

Leo took a casual sip from the cup. “I’ve lived in Vegas for a few years, so it’s easy to find the ones who don’t belong.”

“You… you…”

He blinked. “Let’s move. I can’t hear anything.”

Why was HakYeon such a pushover to this guy? He followed Leo to an outdoor patio. Under different circumstances, it would’ve been a nice view. Nearby, there was a giant chessboard on the ground where two people were playing against each other. The trees weren’t huge leafy things, so the sun still shone through the ferns and dotted the table between the two. Even the late-Autumn weather was clear, a light breeze wafting through.

Yes, under a different circumstance where HakYeon possibly hadn’t been just randomly buttsexed the previous night by some stranger he’d just met.

“Just so you know,” Leo started, “I don’t get involved with customers.”

“I don’t even care about that,” HakYeon replied. “I just want to know what the hell that was all about.”

Again, that quizzical head tilt. “You requested me, didn’t you?”

“No!” HakYeon exclaimed loudly. “Where did you even get that idea?! All I did was ask you to recommend me a sandwich!”

Leo didn’t reply right away, dragging from the cup of coffee again. The name on the sleeve of the cup was the same as the shop they sat in front of, Sambalatte. HakYeon briefly wondered if Leo had really just coincidentally waltzed in to the casino and found him.

“Do you know DJ?” Leo suddenly asked.

“Eh? Who?”

“DJ.”

“DJ who? I don’t know any DJs.”

“No. DJ.”

HakYeon slapped the table between them. “I just told you, I don’t know any DJs or anyone named DJ!”

“So you didn’t go to Harrah’s?”

“No? I don’t think so.”

“You didn’t talk to DJ?”

“Again, no.”

“Then how did you get my number?”

“I… What? I don’t know your number. You mean, your phone number?”

“No.” Leo fished out a cell phone from his pocket and swiped a few times before turning the phone so it faced HakYeon. “You wrote this.”

HakYeon scanned the picture Leo was showing him. It was the itemized receipt, the one HakYeon had scribbled on with all of his math. There were a few numbers he had circled, sums, out of habit. “Yeah, that’s the receipt that you gave me, and that’s just a bunch of math. What about it?”

Leo blinked. He retracted the phone back to reexamine the picture. “A bunch of math?”

“Yes! You can’t tell? Er, well, I don’t write the symbols anymore, but it was all just mainly basic math. I was figuring things out for work in my head, and sometimes I just end up writing it all out because I get tired of thinking. I end up doing that sometimes, but– In any case, what does that have to do with anything?”

Leo was still staring at the picture. “… Well.”

“‘Well’ what?!”

Leo laid his phone flat on the table and pushed it between them so they both could see. He pointed to one of the numbers HakYeon had circled. “This number you circled here is my number. The other number you circled here turned out to be your room number. You’d already told me about your conference at MGM, so I just used that.”

The first number, 1110, was the result of expenses. No. The second number… scary coincidence, but that was incidentals. No. HakYeon rubbed his temples. “I don’t… what… Is this a service… I don’t get it…”

Leo was glaring at him again. “Yes, it’s a service. You write the number of the one you request, and you indicate your room number.”

It took maybe three seconds before–

HakYeon shrieked, “WAIT I UNCONSCIOUSLY REQUESTED A PROSTITUTE?!”

“You know, I thought the whole ‘dumb act’ was just some weird fetish of yours, but I think you seriously are an idiot.”

“YAH WHAT THE HELL?!”

“Quit yelling. You’re being obnoxious.”

HakYeon was beside himself. _OH DEITIES WHAT HAVE I DONE?!_ “But I didn’t even know about this! What am I supposed to do now?! I didn’t even… OH GOD I DIDN’T PAY FOR THIS! I DON’T WANT PEOPLE CHASING AFTER ME–”

“Wait…” Leo cut him off. “You didn’t meet DJ, so you really didn’t pay… Yah!” His voice finally amped up a bit. “You’d better pay up! This isn’t free!”

“I know that! But I didn’t know! I didn’t ask for this!”

“I don’t care! You need to pay!”

HakYeon was a microsecond away from whining and complaining again, but there was an expression breaking through Leo’s face that made him stop. For the most part, the man in front of him had seemed like a crude, sarcastic rock completely aloof to what anyone was saying. But for just a second, there was a wild desperation surging through, anxiety brimming on the ends.

HakYeon hesitated. There were a lot of things wrong about everything on this trip, and he was only two days in. What more could he possibly do?

“Do I… have to go through this DJ character?” HakYeon asked.

Leo seemed to have calmed down a bit, relaxing back to a slouch. “Not necessarily. In the end, the money goes to me, anyway.”

“Fine. But don’t you take this the wrong way!” HakYeon warned, wiggling his finger at Leo. “This is just because I don’t want people chasing after me to dump me in the Hudson!”

“The Hudson is in New York.”

“Whatever. I don’t live here.” HakYeon pawed through the exchanged currency in his wallet. “…here. I don’t know what you’re looking for, but this should be enough, right?” He shoved the money at Leo who took it easily, fanning out the bills to count with his pointed eyes. He paused, glancing up to stare at HakYeon. HakYeon hated that stare. “What?!”

“Nothing. Thanks for the service.” He pocketed the money, already in a brighter mood.

Turns out, Leo was a chatterbox, supplying HakYeon with replies to whatever question he could answer. He is actually almost the same age as HakYeon with the two not even half a year apart; HakYeon had already turned 26 that year, Leo following at some point. He was born and raised in Seoul before moving to Vegas just under two years ago.

“Wait, and this is the job you decided to take? Deli-man by day, street walker by night?”

Leo kicked HakYeon under the table. “Circumstances. People choose their lives due to circumstances.”

HakYeon grumbled, rubbing his shin. “Okay, so what led you to this?”

“Think about it. People end up losing money in Vegas for various reasons. The more common reasons I’ve found are either they fucked up and lost all of their money from gambling it all away, or they foolishly came with big dreams and no means of achieving them. And for those who don’t want to be one of the hobos with a cardboard panel on the skywalks, there’s DJ.

“He won’t go around picking up all of the wash-ups on the street, though. You can’t tell me you’d bang those types for any amount of money.” HakYeon grimaced at the thought. “Exactly. He picks and chooses the ones who’ll bring him money. He’ll give us a number, and we’ll go about our regular lives in the regular jobs we applied for.

“But he has his network. He’ll rake in the desperate, the ones looking for a night of fun, and the ones drunk off their asses. To him and the customers, we’re just a menu, another attraction of Sin City. Pay him up front, and he’ll give you the list. Go to the designated location, and write your selection on the receipt. The cashier will send him the request, and the appointment is made.”

“Wait,” HakYeon interrupted. “So then… how deep does this service go? Like, what if you weren’t the one working last night, and someone else saw my receipt.”

“There are the messengers, and there are the prostitutes,” Leo replied easily. “Sometimes we work both shifts. Most messengers don’t know why they’re sending pictures of receipts to a guy in Harrah’s.”

Bewildered, HakYeon rubbed his face with his hands. “Oh… my… God… I can’t believe this…”

Leo just spun his phone on the tabletop. “I’d venture to say there’s at least ten employees planted in each major hotel at a time. Actually, there’s another Korean guy in MGM. Goes by the name Ravi, but he works as a Blackjack dealer. We used to have another Korean guy, too, but he was bought recently.”

“Bought…” HakYeon finally resurfaced, eyes popping wide. “Wait, bought?! Someone _bought_ him?!”

“Calm down. It’s not a slave drive. It just means some customer of his wanted to pay off his debt, so he had no more reason to work with us. Good thing, though. He was too young for this.”

HakYeon’s head was still spinning from all of the information he was trying to take in. “Yah… Why would you even do this kind of thing?”

“We have debts to pay, and we need money,” Leo stated. “That’s all there is to it.”

“But, I mean, isn’t your regular job enough? Why do you have to resort to this?”

Leo blinked slowly, and HakYeon wondered if Leo was thinking he was an idiot again. “I’ve been trying to go home for almost two years. You’re the math nerd. Think about how much debt that amounts to.”

Without even being told, the numbers started whirling through his head, and HakYeon had to slap himself to stop because there were _way_ too many numbers. “But… what if, say, you got ‘bought’ or whatever. If someone decided to buy you. Would this DJ person really willingly let you go if you were a good… er, employee?”

“There’s no consequence. Like what happened with the kid, DJ just said ‘Good job. Thanks for the service’, and he was gone. There will always be suckers who can replace you, regardless if you’re the number-one golden egg or not.”

“Oh my God…” HakYeon rubbed his forehead on the table. “How did I even get into this…?”

“Coincidence. Circumstances. It doesn’t matter. Just don’t screw up in Vegas, and you’ll be fine.” Leo stood up, chucking his empty coffee cup at the nearest trash can. “Which, by the way, the amount you gave me just now is enough for two nights of service.”

“I…” What did he just say? “EH?! NO! You keep it! Don’t bother me anymore!”

“I already have a few appointments lined up, but I’m sure I could squeeze you in. What’s another night?” Leo was full-on smirking. “Just take it and enjoy it. Also… take it and enjoy it.”

“Yah! I told you to just keep it!”

That night found HakYeon pressed against the headboard of his bed, bare back sliding on the slick wood while he gasped out profanities each time Leo pushed himself in deeper. Leo had skipped the tie bondage which left HakYeon’s hands free to dig angry lines into Leo’s back when he circled a hand around HakYeon’s aching erection.

There were a lot of things wrong about everything on this trip, and he was only two days in. What more could he possibly do? HakYeon bit hard into Leo’s shoulder to keep himself from crying out when he came.


	3. Tuesday and Wednesday

“Geez, Cha-goon, you look like shit.”

“Shut up.”

“Did you lose all your money last night?”

“Shut up.”

“Did another prostitute come to your door again?”

“Shut up.”

HakYeon’s mood was incredi-foul. Two unwarranted nights in a row, two foul mornings in a row. If there was anything worse that could happen during this vacation, then it better back off because HakYeon was not going to take that shit.

He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. No. He just wouldn’t go looking for trouble. He’d already balanced out whatever dues needed to be paid with that guy. No need to go back to that deli, that hotel. Just don’t go looking for him, and he won’t bother you again.

“Yah, HakYeon! Since we’ll be leaving tomorrow morning, let’s go have dinner together.”

Kill the world with fire.

“Oi, you know I suck at English…”

“But people say the food here is good.”

“JinWoo-goon, help us out with the menu! You’re the best with English!”

“I am not!”

How did this happen? What was he doing here again? He didn’t get to tell his coworkers to eat somewhere else because half of them were already strolling in to the Carnegie Deli to order. Well, maybe he’d be lucky and that guy wouldn’t be working again.

“Ooh, lucky! There’s a Korean guy here! Come on!”

If killing the world is impossible, then please just let HakYeon die in a fire.

“HakYeon-ah! Why are you lagging? Come on!”

_End me._ He couldn’t even contain the look of disdain that pulled at his face when he saw Leo standing behind the counter, staring at the wild influx of Orientals that had suddenly invaded the restaurant. As soon as he saw HakYeon, though, his expression transformed from dull and bored to the knowing smirk that made HakYeon want to punch him in the face.

“Ah…” HakYeon’s coworkers squinted at the menu. “I don’t know any of these American foods… Jongubwon, what’s good here?”

“You can ask him,” Leo offered brightly, gesturing in HakYeon’s direction. He was rewarded with another poisonous look. “He’s eaten here before.”

“Eh?” All eyes turned to him. “Seriously, Cha-goon?”

“Ah, yeah… I ate here the other night.”

After quite a few minutes of constant questions and harassing – having to constantly say he only had one sandwich, so how could he possibly know what everything else tasted like – the band of number crunchers had placed their orders and began to float off to the tables, pointing out to HakYeon where they were going. Finally, HakYeon was left by himself at the counter. He whipped his head back front, and Leo grinned angelically.

“How can I help you, sonnim?” Leo asked brightly.

“Don’t you give me that,” HakYeon grumbled. “And don’t you touch my coworkers. Don’t drug their food, either.”

“Drug their food? What are you talking about?”

“Yah, you must’ve put something in my food the other night!”

“Hmmm I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Leo leaned over the counter, nonchalantly pushing a receipt across the wood. “Considering how you haven’t stopped looking for me every day, I’m pretty sure you just fell for me all on your own.”

HakYeon curled his lip. “As if.”

“By the way, that hickey you gave me last night is pretty hot.”

“S-shut up!!!”

“In any case, who’s to say your coworkers didn’t go to meet DJ and are thinking of making their order? You never know.”

“Yah, they wouldn’t even think of doing that!”

“You never know~”

This guy is infuriating. HakYeon was brimming, seething, scowling, and Leo just returned it with his seemingly-innocent grin. Brandishing his pen, HakYeon scratched on the receipt before him.

“There. You happy?” He shoved the receipt back across the counter, 1110 angrily scribbled across the top. “Don’t touch my coworkers.”

“Oh~ But this just means I’m free to touch _you_ all I want.” Leo didn’t even hesitate to pull out his phone and snap a picture of the receipt, HakYeon feeling a brief shiver run through his body just from Leo’s words. “Thanks for the service. By the way, I ordered the same sandwich for you. Watch out. I might slip something in it.”

“You–!!!”

“OI HAKYEON-GOON! QUIT FLIRTING AND SIT DOWN, ALREADY!” his coworkers shouted across the restaurant.

While HakYeon combusted into a tomato, Leo smirked and turned towards the kitchen. “We’ll bring you your order in a few minutes.”

It wasn’t too late for HakYeon to jump into a fire. He instead ended up trudging to the tables where his coworkers sat, collapsing into a chair with a groan. About half of the table continued their banter while those sitting across and adjacent to HakYeon turned to him.

“Yah, Cha-goon, was he trying to get your phone number or something?”

“No.”

“So you were trying to get his phone number?”

“NO! Geez!” Where’s the closest fire?

“It’s really too bad you bat for the other side, HakYeon-goon. That chick was totally eyeballing you these past two days. What was her name?”

“Taytanny?”

“Tatianna! What kind of stupid name is Taytanny?!”

“I would’ve told you to get her number and hook up with her since you’re staying in Vegas longer.”

“Yah, what the hell?!” HakYeon squawked.

“What? You’re acting like some kind of fresh virgin. Are you a fresh virgin?”

“ _Oh my God please shut up_.”

“But what are you planning on doing while you’re still here? You’re not gambling, apparently, and too much of a prude to go to the strip clubs.”

“I was going to rent a car and drive around to places outside of the Strip,” HakYeon replied.

“There are places outside of the Strip?”

Water glasses were being set all around the table. HakYeon absent-mindedly grabbed at one. “Of course. Even though this place is in the middle of the desert, there are other things to do. It actually isn’t too far to drive to Los Angeles.”

“Geez. I would rather fly there or something.”

“Yah, Cha-goon…” One of his coworkers pointed. “Why don’t you just hook up with him?”

HakYeon was mid-sip when he followed where the hand was pointing and promptly spewed water when he realized it was Leo’s retreating back. “WHAT THE HELL NO.”

“YOU NEED TO QUIT THAT, HAKYEON!”

“Why not? You obviously wouldn’t go for the Taytanny chick, and that guy seems like he’s interested in you.”

“W-Wha– Freakin no!”

“What are you doing on Thursday?” Leo asked.

This while HakYeon was still trembling, sprawled out on his stomach on the bed trying to catch his breath. And he’d just yelled at Leo for making him come all over the sheets. After being on his hands and knees for who knows how long, he had no strength left to push himself up, so instead he swiveled his head around.

“Wha…?” Apparently, he couldn’t speak properly yet.

Leo was already halfway dressed, hands working on the buttons of his shirt. “Since you’re still gonna be in town.”

“W-where’d you hear that?”

The cashier blinked. “You were talking about it at dinner. Your coworkers were saying you’re staying here longer.”

“What. Why were you eavesdropping?”

“I’m a server. I was pouring water for your table. You didn’t notice?”

Damn it all. HakYeon pondered for a bit. “Thursday… I don’t know. I thought about driving out to Hoover Dam or something. Why?”

“I’m off on Thursday. I’ll drive you. Don’t spend money on a car.”

“Wha– No. Why? No, don’t bother me. You’ve already bothered me for three nights of my vacation.”

“Because it’s fun.”

“Besides, I’m checking out of this room tomorrow.”

“Eh?” Leo actually froze in the middle of tying his tie.

“What? These first nights are paid by my company, so the reservations were under the company’s name. The rest is my own vacation, so I have to check out of this room and into a new one with the reservation under my name.”

“How am I supposed to know where your new room will be, then?”

“How, indeed? Looks like you won’t be able to bother me anymore.”

In the first second that HakYeon woke up the next morning, he was afraid that Leo would be lurking somewhere nearby, stalking HakYeon to his new room. He bolted up instantly, cursing his forgetfulness when he remembered a little too late that his backside still hadn’t had time to heal. But his room was empty. He carefully rolled out of bed.

A quick shower later, HakYeon was looking up and down the halls for any sign of the horny idiot. The paranoia continued all the way down the elevator, through the casino floor, and up to the front counter in the main lobby. He thought he was finally safe until he turned from the counter and was in very close proximity of the giant eyesore. To be accurate, Leo was standing right behind him.

“Son of a shit–” HakYeon stumbled backwards. “What the hell?!”

Leo tilted his head quizzically. “Where are your bags?”

Scowling, HakYeon passed straight by him to head to the elevators. “None of your business.”

Leo followed HakYeon across the casino floor, pushing into the same elevator. When HakYeon shot an annoyed glare at him, Leo just responded with that stupid innocent smile. He was in step behind HakYeon when they reached the floor HakYeon had requested, all the way up to the door of the room. Even as HakYeon slid the card into the door, pushing the door open, Leo followed suit.

HakYeon stopped just inside and turned around, still glaring. Leo stared.

“It’s the same room,” HakYeon snapped. “For convenience. Are you happy now?”

At first, Leo continued to stare. But then the smirk spread across his face. “And here I thought I’d have to have Ravi do some espionage.” He was suddenly yanking HakYeon towards him. HakYeon’s yelp of surprise turned into a suppressed moan. _Why the fuck is Leo’s hand down my pants?!_ “Thanks, baby. I’ll see you tonight, then,” Leo whispered hotly into HakYeon’s ear.

Just as quickly they were connected, Leo was whirling around and disappearing through the open door. HakYeon didn’t even get to cuss him out for the growing problem in his pants.

* * *

HakYeon spent most of his time contemplating his current situation while halfway submerged in the tub. The warm water did wonders for his worn-out muscles.

He was still blank and lost as he wandered downstairs, not quite sure what was originally on his itinerary for Wednesday. Leo had thrown everything about his vacation off. And what more with him wanting to intrude on Thursday? HakYeon was supposed to go out to get the rental car that day, but now that he had no obligations, what was he supposed to do?

“Hey, chingu, can I buy you a drink?”

HakYeon’s head snapped around at the sound of his mother language and was met with the sight of a Korean guy looking his way. He was dressed like the other employees of the hotel. Suspicious, HakYeon inspected him for a nametag.

_Ravi._

“No,” HakYeon replied quickly, already trying to think of an escape.

The Ravi character laughed loud and heartily. “I knew you’d be like this! Don’t worry! Leo told me about you. I’m not gonna try to bed you, I promise.”

“Leo… told you about me?”

“Yep. And you look like you need a drink, so let me buy you a drink.”

“It’s…” HakYeon looked at his phone. “… two in the afternoon.”

“According to these types–” Ravi swept a hand in the direction of the casino, indicating the zombies staring at the bright machines, “–time means nothing. Let’s go.”

Fortunately, the two left the deafening casino area to the bar in Emeril’s. Ravi shucked off his vest, setting it on the chair next to him, and offered the other chair to HakYeon. He took the seat but not without hesitation. Ravi just chuckled and tapped on the bar, the bartender lazily waving a hand in reply and setting to work on some unspoken order.

“Well,” Ravi started, “you’re certainly not what I was expecting from what Leo was telling me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” HakYeon asked suspiciously.

“No, that came out wrong. I meant, he said you were some kinda math nerd, so I was… I dunno, expecting a nerd or something? I was surprised.”

“Surprised about what?”

“Well, you don’t look like a nerd!” HakYeon didn’t know if he was supposed to be happy about this statement. “Plus, Leo-hyung certainly wouldn’t say anything if you were some unremarkable nerd.”

“Look, okay, this isn’t make me feel any better. What exactly has he said about me? About all this?”

“All what? The sex? Nothing weird about it, I don’t think. That’s our job, ya know?”

HakYeon was half a second from banging his head on the bar, but the bartender slid drinks toward them. Still a bit paranoid, he toyed with the glass instead, watching as Ravi took an appreciative swig of whatever genre alcohol he had ordered.

“Well, how about this…” Ravi proposed. “What are you thinking?”

“It’s…” For once, HakYeon stopped himself to properly come up with the words he actually wanted to say. “I’m still… just baffled. Like, I realize there are debts and whatnot to settle, but why do you have to go for this kind of life? Aren’t your regular jobs enough?”

Ravi hummed, spinning his glass in his hand. “Maybe we’re not as weirded out by it as you are? Maybe it goes against your morals or what, but this is just in the job description. Or maybe we just like sex that much. Screw dignity. We just need money. When we remember how to think of ourselves as human beings again, then the job will be difficult. So we just learn to throw ourselves away to the wind and live for the night until we can pay our way out.”

“Would you let yourself be bought, then?”

Ravi cast a heavy gaze on HakYeon, his expression dark. “Don’t you tease anyone with that. That’s just dangling a rope in front of someone stuck in a hole, and when they finally reach for it, they realize there’s nothing at the other side, and the rope falls down in with them.”

“What?”

But Ravi only shook his head, tending to his drink instead. “Just don’t play Leo-hyung with that. You can keep on being fuck buddies, and it’ll be fine.”

Their conversation stuck in HakYeon’s mind, even while he rode Leo that night. Even with his thighs burning and his arms about to give out, his conscious thoughts disappearing in the heady cloud of lust, Ravi’s burdened expression was hard to erase. Leo caught on to the distraction, holding HakYeon’s hips in place and thrusting up hard to get HakYeon’s attention.

“A-ah…!”

There went his arms. HakYeon collapsed onto Leo. He fumbled for a bit when he realized they were suddenly face to face. For a brief moment, HakYeon’s mindset switched. For that moment, there was some kind of solid conclusion forming. But in that moment, Leo pinched his lips together and rolled them over, pushing HakYeon’s legs over his shoulders so he could hammer whatever sensible thoughts HakYeon had managed to conjure out the window. HakYeon tried to grab at what it was, but the world exploded into white behind his eyelids.


	4. Thursday

“Yah.”

HakYeon grunted.

“Wake up.”

He pretended to still be asleep.

“Come on. You can sleep in the car.”

He grumbled.

Leo’s breath tickled his ear. “Unless you want me to fuck you until you wake up.”

He back-handed Leo in the face.

It wasn’t too early in the morning, but it was certainly too early in the morning to wake up during vacation. Regardless, HakYeon trudged out of bed to get ready. Leo, that snarky bastard, was already fully dressed and ready to go, so he idly sat in a chair, playing on his phone while HakYeon stumbled about. Even after a shower and walking centuries through the hotel all the way to the parking garage, as soon as HakYeon buckled himself into Leo’s car – wait, when did he agree to this? – car-colepsy took over, and he was dozing before they even reached the ground floor.

He fully blamed this on the fact that because Leo took it upon himself to sleep over in HakYeon’s room, not only did they have sex the night before, somewhere in the early morning, Leo was on top of HakYeon again. Who the hell did he think he was having a damn fucking slumber party? And how was he already wired to drive however long it took to get–

“Time to wake up,” Leo announced.

HakYeon felt as the car slowed to a halt, the sound of the gear shift thumping to Park. He roused himself, blinking with maybe one eye to take in their surroundings. He paused. HakYeon was expecting to see the desert, but what he saw outside their window was rather different than what he thought.

“Where are we?” he croaked, reaching out to open the door.

“Grand Canyon,” Leo replied.

“Eh?”

HakYeon bounced out of the car, the dry air bringing him to his senses. Sure enough, there was the giant gouge in the middle of the earth. There was a crowd of people all around taking pictures, trudging about with slow steps, looking at pamphlets, and being janky tourists. HakYeon spun around.

“How did we end up here?”

Leo tilted his head. “I drove here.”

“I realize that! But why here?”

“It’s not that far to drive. Hell, you were talking about driving to LA. You don’t wanna see it?”

HakYeon looked back. “That’s not it…”

Leo sidled up to him, hands in pockets. “I figured maybe you’d wanna see it. Since you were gonna see the dam, anyway.” When HakYeon didn’t reply – he didn’t know how to reply – Leo just sighed and hooked a hand around HakYeon’s elbow. “Let’s go.”

“Eh? Where?”

“The Skywalk.”

“What’s that?”

Leo pointed. HakYeon looked. He was instantly skittering backwards, almost far enough to hide behind the car.

“No no no no no no no thank you. You can do that by yourself. Good bye.”

An evil grin broke out on Leo’s face. “What is this, scaredy cat?”

“You better believe it. I won’t even lie.”

“Oh, come on.”

“Absolute no.”

It took at least fifteen minutes for Leo to finally convince HakYeon to at least walk up to the edge of the glass bridge. It took maybe another twenty minutes to force HakYeon to awkwardly stumble around on the glass, knuckles turning white from gripping the rails so hard.

“Relax,” Leo laughed.

HakYeon shivered. “No. I hate you. This sucks. Let me go.”

“Come on. We’re not gonna fall.”

“This is glass! Some brat will come along and jump, and we’re all gonna die!”

“Do you know how many kids have jumped on this already?”

“Then we’re just that much closer to death!”

Leo simply laughed again as he wound an arm around HakYeon’s waist. HakYeon froze, his breath caught somewhere between his throat and lungs.

“We won’t fall. Now relax.”

_No. I can’t relax anymore._

But HakYeon could feel each of his nerves slowly calming down one by one. He finally realized – _oh I shouldn’t look so much, though_ – he could see down the gouge of the canyon through the glass below his shoes. He took each step slowly, feeling like he was walking on air what with the sight of flat earth so far below his feet.

There was dirt and rock beneath the glass again. “Eh?” HakYeon looked up.

Leo smirked. “Congratulations. You didn’t die.”

“Wait… We went around?” HakYeon looked behind him.

“Yeah. I thought you would start hyperventilating.”

“I was close!” He left out that he felt grounded when Leo was holding him.

Leo seemed to sense that there was some other half to what HakYeon was saying and waited for a split second. But he just sighed and turned to hike back to the car. Bewildered, HakYeon followed suit.

The ride wasn’t awkward for Leo, maybe, but HakYeon seemed to flounder quite a bit. Thankfully, Leo wasn’t the type to have to constantly talk. He kept the radio on at a low volume, occasionally having to scan when a station’s reception fell out. A few hours later, HakYeon was maybe half relieved when they finally pulled in to a parking lot, signs everywhere advertising all aspects of the infamous Hoover Dam.

“Oh, _now_ you’re bouncing around,” Leo remarked sarcastically.

“I have a lesser chance of dying here,” HakYeon replied. “Let’s go!”

They scaled steps, went down more steps, scaled more steps, and finally maneuvered their way all around. The dam was always within view, HakYeon stopping every so often to be the token Asian tourist and snapping away with his phone. Leo would always wait patiently to the side, frowning when HakYeon dared to point his phone in his general direction. He retaliated by scaring HakYeon with the occasional bump when HakYeon was leaning too far over the handrail.

HakYeon tried to kick Leo back.

“Thank you!” HakYeon told the lady at the concession bar. Pretty much the only English he knew.

He gracefully turned to head back to the outdoor patio, two coffee cups in hand. As he pushed his way through the door with his hip, he spotted Leo at the table where HakYeon had left him, talking to someone on his phone. For a split second, HakYeon hesitated, but he quickly changed his mind and continued on to the table.

Leo’s voice was light as he spoke to whoever it was on the other side. “Of course not. You know how I am.” HakYeon set the cup on the table in front of Leo, but he made no move for it, solely dedicated to his phone call. “Right. Well, that’s something you’d have to ask them. I’ll go with whatever they say.”

For a bit, Leo’s tone kept up in that manner. But in a matter of seconds, HakYeon saw as everything dragged down. Leo’s posture, expression, and even his voice fell slightly. He still tried to manage a nonchalant façade. “No, I’m still working. There’s still a lot of things to be done before then… Yeah, but work is work. I have to do this properly before anything else.

“Sure. Sure. Isn’t it late over there? Go to sleep.” A ghost of a smile whisked its way past Leo’s face, but then it was gone. “Thanks for calling. I’ll talk to you later… You, too.”

The hand holding his phone dropped to his lap. The phone call was over, but Leo was still staring blankly at the table before him. HakYeon eyed him carefully, wondering if he should maybe interrupt Leo’s reverie. Leo was his ride back, after all.

“Latte…” HakYeon muttered quietly.

Leo’s eyes snapped up as if HakYeon hadn’t just been sitting in front of him for the past few minutes. Then he spotted the cup on the table. “Thanks.” He reached out and took it, seeming like he wasn’t at all affected by his previous conversation.

HakYeon cleared his throat. “Friend? Family?”

“My sister,” Leo replied.

“Oh! You have a sister?”

“Three, actually. They all are older.”

“No brothers?”

“Nope.”

“Awww,” HakYeon crooned. “Baby brother. How did that work out for you?”

“Sucked. They always called me disgusting.”

“Eh? That’s just girls being girls. I have two older sisters, too.”

Leo cocked an eyebrow. “You say that like you’re suddenly an expert on girls.”

“Maybe I am.”

“I doubt it.”

He was right, but HakYeon brushed it off. “So… she doesn’t know what your job is, does she?”

Leo stared straight into HakYeon’s eyes. “Of course not.”

“I realize it’s stupid to ask, but why?”

“Your idiocy is record-breaking.” HakYeon scowled, Leo unaffected. “Who in his right mind would tell his family he’s a prostitute in Vegas?”

“But if you had money issues, couldn’t you have asked for help from them in the first place so you wouldn’t have to do this?”

“My family isn’t rich. I can’t ask that of them.”

“But if they knew that you needed help…!”

“No.”

“So you would rather sell your body than ask your family for help?”

This time, Leo was glaring. “This is not your business.”

“I just want to help you!”

“When did I ever ask for your help?”

HakYeon threw up his hands. “Then what have we been doing?!”

“Sleeping together. How does that translate to a cry for help?”

“AHHH you’re infuriating!”

HakYeon stood up, shoving his chair back across the wooden patio. It caught the attention of nearby tourists who stared at the dramatic scene, but he really didn’t care as he marched off. The coffee was gross, and he seriously couldn’t stand another second with that idiot, so he stomped past the Visitor’s Center to…

“Yah!”

“Don’t you follow me!”

“So you plan on walking back to Vegas?”

HakYeon whirled around. “Don’t you take another step closer!”

Obediently, Leo stopped in his tracks. He just stood there and waited.

“You…! Right now… I can’t stand you! I can’t stand being in the same state as you! So you stay right there!” HakYeon was outright babbling through his raging.

Confusion spread through Leo’s face. But then he burst out laughing, legitimately laughing. “You… are the greatest idiot I have ever known.”

HakYeon was standing in Arizona while Leo was left in Nevada, the sign indicating the border right between them. HakYeon hadn’t meant for it to be comic relief because he was still _pissed as hell_ at Leo, but he crossed his arms in a huff and pouted. Leo got over his stint and completely disregarded HakYeon’s command, crossing the line so he could hook his hand around the back of HakYeon’s neck. The skin underneath instantly flamed up, and HakYeon wondered if Leo could see his ears reddening.

“I’m sorry,” Leo muttered. “I think. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be me apologizing, but if you’ll come back to this side, then I’m sorry.”

Still childishly pouting, HakYeon just snorted a very mature _harrumph_ and pointed his chin away. The smirk returned to Leo’s face, and he gently pulled HakYeon back across the state border, disregarding the fact that he caused HakYeon to stumble like an idiot. No, he would have none of that. HakYeon dislodged himself from Leo’s hold and flopped himself on the handrail, staring down the steep side of the dam.

“So…” he started, “how much do you have left to pay off, anyway?”

Leo held on to the rail with one hand as he leaned back, pondering. “I don’t know the exact number. I’m sure I could ask DJ, but that’s troublesome.”

HakYeon hummed in reply. The two stood in silence for a bit, the bustle of the other tourists and the water filling in the gaps.

“Your number is 1110, right? Is that how many people have gone through this business, or…?”

Leo snorted. “I wouldn’t know. And no, we can pick whatever number we want, given that it isn’t already taken. Any four-digit number. I chose mine for business reasons.”

HakYeon narrowed his eyes at Leo. “And that is…?”

“Not very many people come up with a number that starts with a 0, so obviously my name will be toward the top of the list. People usually don’t have the patience to go through every single person, so they’ll go with what they think will be good just from the first few.”

HakYeon deadpanned. “And that works…?!”

Leo shrugged. “I average maybe four customers per night. I think it works.”

“That many people…?!” HakYeon was back to burying his head in his arms in disbelief.

“Sin City. It’s Sin City.” Leo paused, thoughtful. “You know… I don’t even know your name.”

“… this is Thursday.” HakYeon resurfaced. “You’ve been sexing me for four days, and you don’t know my name. Wait.” HakYeon stood up straight to face Leo. “You said you don’t get involved with customers.”

Leo stared back at him blankly. “Okay? Does knowing your name count?”

Exasperated, HakYeon heaved out a dramatic sigh. “Cha HakYeon! Cha. Hak. Yeon! Happy?!”

His gaze trailed upward as he seemed to try out HakYeon’s name. Then he nodded. “Yep.”

HakYeon rolled his eyes. “And you?”

“What?”

“Your name. I gave you mine, so it’s only fair to give me yours.”

“You know my name.”

“No, I know your handle, Leo. That’s not your name.”

Somehow, that statement seemed to make Leo uneasy. He shifted, staring off in the direction of the river. “You don’t need to know my name.”

“Why? You weren’t born Leo, and one of these days, you’re gonna pay your way out of being Leo, so what does it matter?”

But Leo flexed his jaw, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter. But as long as I’m here, that’s the only name I’m known by. That’s all that exists.”

“… I don’t think so. Right now, you’re not Leo the deliman-slash-streetwalker from Vegas. You’re just… you, how you should be.”

Leo shot him a look. It wasn’t out of anger or disdain or the like. It was withdrawn, submissive, _tired_. HakYeon determinedly held his gaze, but Leo just shook his head and stood up straight.

“Let’s go.”

Speaking of awkward car rides, the roughly-two-hour drive back to the Strip was one. Leo’s mood wasn’t light like how it was when they left the Grand Canyon. In a way, HakYeon maybe felt bad about bringing up the issue of Leo’s name. It shouldn’t have been a big deal.

The sunset was blazing orange around the columns of the MGM parking garage by the time they pulled into a parking spot. HakYeon went through the motions of getting out when he noticed that Leo was frozen solid in his seat, his hand still holding the gear shift. He looked up questioningly at Leo.

“I… just pulled in without thinking,” Leo said, his voice tight. “I should’ve dropped you off at the front.”

Why did that make HakYeon’s throat constrict? He was frozen in his seat, too. “You’re… not coming up?”

Leo shot him another look, anxious this time, before he faced forward. “… I’ll walk you up.”

The century-long walk was just as heavy as the car ride. Passing through the casino floor, the machines were certainly way too loud, the crowd of people on all sides was too much, and the second-hand smoky air stifling. Going up the elevator was nauseating.

HakYeon pushed down the handle to his room and stopped, looking over his shoulder. Leo was standing stiffly just too far away, hands shoved into his pockets. He just looked at HakYeon, some distant expression on his face. However, his eyes flitted down when HakYeon slightly pushed the door open, his face twisting. HakYeon quickly glanced down to see.

A bottle of wine had been set on the ground right next to the door, a red ribbon tied to the neck with a tag hanging right next to it. HakYeon stooped down to pick it up.

[ _Happy birthday, hyung ;]_ ] the tag read, written in loopy Hangul.

“Who…?” HakYeon murmured. “Did they mess up the room or something…?”

“No,” Leo replied, his voice still strained. “That’s Ravi’s handwriting.”

“Eh?” HakYeon looked back and forth between Leo and the wine bottle. “But… what birthday…?” _Oh, HakYeon, why are you so slow?_ “You... It’s your birthday?!”

A wry smile made its way onto Leo’s face. “It is.”

“Yah, what the hell! You didn’t say anything all day!”

“It doesn’t matter…”

“Wait… Today is… YAH! PABO-YAH! Today is November 10! 1110! Is that what your number means, too?!”

“Maybe.”

“You’re so lame!”

“It’s easy to remember.”

HakYeon wanted to laugh, but Leo was still solidly standing his ground just too far from the door, hands defiantly shoved in his pockets. He looked like he wanted to laugh, too, but his expression was far from it, seemingly disgusted at something. HakYeon sighed and reached out to pull on Leo’s jacket. He almost flinched backwards, but HakYeon just pulled until he gave in and shuffled cautiously into the room.

The door shut heavily behind them. HakYeon moved to set the wine on the TV stand and turned back to find Leo standing still by the door. The sun was still shining fire through the window, but Leo stood far enough away that he lurked in the shadow. Slowly, HakYeon approached him again; slowly, since it almost seemed like Leo wanted to run away.

Slowly, HakYeon reached up to push back Leo’s jacket and leaned forward, pressing his lips to Leo’s neck. He felt Leo stiffen, everything tensing up under his hands. He continued to dot slow kisses down Leo’s neck, gently peeling away his jacket until it dropped to the ground. Leo was breathing harshly by then, hissing lightly when HakYeon’s hands wandered under the hem of his shirt to trail his fingers across the bare skin. He was still too tense, much too tense.

“H… HakYeon…” he whispered.

A shiver ran down HakYeon’s spine. He pushed up Leo’s shirt, feeling gutsy as he pressed his lips against Leo’s chest. Beneath the skin, he could almost feel the heart inside racing erratically. Slowly, he pulled at Leo’s shirt until Leo lifted his arms, allowing it to be shucked off to the side. Leo started to reach up, but HakYeon grasped his wrists and pushed back, successfully pinning Leo against the wall. He grazed his lips along the mark he had left on Leo’s shoulder.

Leo shuddered beneath him. “ _HakYeon…_ ” he repeated, sounding increasingly desperate.

HakYeon pulled back just long enough to look into Leo’s eyes. He was wrecked, and HakYeon wasn’t going to stop. He leaned in again, slowly, torturously, bringing his lips to Leo’s.

Leo froze. He stopped breathing as well.

 _In these four days, he’s never kissed me, either,_ HakYeon mused.

HakYeon pushed just a bit more, pulling Leo’s bottom lip between his. He was rewarded with a low whimper as Leo pushed back, just maybe yearning for more. HakYeon released one of Leo’s wrists in favor of lacing his fingers through Leo’s hair.

A mistake. Maybe. Not really.

Leo immediately shoved HakYeon to the opposite wall, HakYeon letting out a small _oof_ as he rebounded. But Leo was on him again, kissing him deeply, passionately. HakYeon couldn’t get enough of him, his hands roaming Leo’s broad back, skimming along the top of his pants. He could feel every shiver that pulsed through his body.

He didn’t foresee Leo suddenly grinding his hips down into HakYeon’s. He broke the constant kisses, a choked gasp against Leo’s lips, but then Leo was feverishly kissing him again. They both were incredibly hard, bodies overheated beyond comprehension.

“B-bed…” HakYeon stammered into Leo’s mouth. “Bed… _now_.”

Leo simply grunted in reply, lifting HakYeon by his thighs with ease and tossing him unceremoniously onto the mattress. HakYeon had only bounced once before Leo was on top of him again. He threw his arms around Leo’s neck, kisses all over again, while Leo fumbled with his shirt. He didn’t even have the patience to throw it to the ground before he was working down HakYeon’s pants.

He was almost sobbing into the crook of Leo’s neck from the leisurely strokes and occasional tease to the head of his cock. He pulled Leo’s body close to his own, and Leo obliged, still agonizingly grinding his hips – still clothed, _damn it_ – down into HakYeon’s. HakYeon whimpered, trying with unsteady hands to strip the last bit of clothing that separated them. Leo let him struggle, all the while alternating between slick, open-mouth kisses and nips and bites that set the abused skin aflame.

Slippery fingers breached HakYeon’s entrance, and he was a hopeless case again. He’d at least made enough progress that Leo could kick off his pants and continue his ministrations. HakYeon clung to Leo, letting out filthy gasps and pants as Leo worked a third finger inside of him. He was getting too close too soon, and he whined when Leo finally pushed in, too slow, _too slow_. Their lips came together again, kisses messy since HakYeon shook every time Leo pushed harder.

He whispered something. “Eh?” HakYeon managed to gasp out.

“Jung… TaekWoon…” Leo murmured into his ear.

“Wha…”

HakYeon looked up at the flushed face above him, bangs messily swept against glistening skin. “My name… is Jung TaekWoon.”

_TaekWoon…_

“TaekWoon…”

HakYeon reached up, and TaekWoon went to him. Their lips met again. HakYeon ingrained TaekWoon’s name into his mind, gasping it as he finally, _finally_ climaxed and continued to murmur it into TaekWoon’s ear when the other still thrusted into him. When he came with a shudder, HakYeon whispered his name against his lips, hoping TaekWoon would maybe remember his own name.


	5. Friday

“HAHAHA OH SHIT!”

HakYeon delivered a swift punch to the gut that made Ravi keel over in his chair, but he still continued to laugh obnoxiously. Disgruntled and slightly mortified, HakYeon readjusted the turtleneck of his shirt that Ravi had just yanked back so he could see the sprawl of red marks all over his neck. At least it was November, and HakYeon had thought to pack accordingly.

“Oh, damn,” Ravi wheezed. “I figured he’d be up to something last night, but…” He was gone again, laughing into his arms on the bar.

“Ravi-goon, I am going to hurt you if you continue.”

“Right, right. Sorry.” He continued to heckle. “So how was your date yesterday? Leo-hyung left super early this morning. I was still working, so I couldn’t ask him.”

That morning, HakYeon woke up to an empty bed and empty room. He was slightly disturbed at the empty feeling that came with it, more so when he saw his reflection in the mirror was similar to one who’d decided to jump into a river full of piranhas. It wasn’t until later when he randomly decided to check his phone that he realized it was different.

< Yah. You brat. Who do you think you are tampering with my phone? > HakYeon sent.

< You texted me first. > TaekWoon replied.

< You put your phone number in here first! >

< ㅎ Don’t bother me. I’m working. >

HakYeon hesitated for a bit, trying to figure out how to word his next text.

< Fine, but I’m leaving tomorrow… >

He attributed TaekWoon not replying to the fact that he was working, but he still felt the paranoia. Which led him to seek out Ravi on the first floor and further led them to their previous perch at Emeril’s.

“It was fine,” HakYeon answered vaguely. “We drove out to the Grand Canyon and then Hoover Dam. And then we came back here.”

“Hmmm but that doesn’t really take all day, right? When did you two get back?”

“Maybe six or seven. I don’t remember.”

“Ah, I see. So you two were going at it since then. Okay.”

“Ravi-goon, you are dead to me.”

The brat snickered. “No, but I wanna ask you seriously… Do you _like_ Leo-hyung?”

It shouldn’t have required any thought. Why would HakYeon like someone he’d literally only known for less than a week? He didn’t know anything about TaekWoon except for how he was in bed (and that really wasn’t anything to complain about, honestly). No, there shouldn’t be any emotional strings at all.

Of course Ravi would pick up on HakYeon’s hesitation. “If you don’t know, then I know you do, at least. I could tell when I saw you for the first time the other day.”

It would explain the random torrent of feelings that HakYeon seemed to be suffering from. No, he wasn’t suffering. “Okay, fine. Maybe. Why, are you gonna laugh at me again?”

Surprisingly solemn, Ravi shook his head and faced the bar to nurse his drink. “He’s a good-lookin’ guy. I’ve seen customers fall for him before. But nothing ever fazes him… because they never stay.”

At the last bit, Ravi turned to look at HakYeon again, sleepy eyes very steadily studying HakYeon’s reaction. HakYeon could feel something forming in the pit of his stomach, and he reconsidered drinking the alcohol in front of him.

Ravi let him pontificate for a second before he continued. “So, normally, I wouldn’t give two thoughts about it. But in the year and a half that I’ve known him, he’s never continuously talked about a customer, fucked with a customer five nights in a row outside of the requests, and he definitely never decided on his own to take a customer out just for the hell of it.”

“Now, wait,” HakYeon interrupted. “TaekWoon can’t be paying that much attention to me – ”

“What was that?”

“What?”

“What you just said.”

“What? I just said that TaekWoon couldn’t really be – ”

“TaekWoon?”

HakYeon blinked. “Yeah. TaekWoon. Leo. TaekWoon.”

Ravi was just staring at him. “TaekWoon is his name?”

“Yeah…? Isn’t it?” Ravi let out a long breath and leaned back in his chair. Somewhat alarmed, HakYeon pressed, “What? What about it? Am I wrong?”

“Yah…” Ravi shook his head. “ _I_ didn’t even know his name. He never told _anyone_ that. Said he never would.”

HakYeon opened his mouth but shut it when he realized he didn’t have anything to reply. His eyes fell to the bar in front of them. Sighing, Ravi ran a hand through his bangs.

“Well. You’ve told him you’re leaving, at least, right?”

“Yeah. Er, I texted him, but he didn’t reply…”

“Yah, chingu… I dunno what to say. Just… let him down easy, I guess. Cuz maybe he likes you more than you like him.”

Something about talking with Ravi makes HakYeon go through the rest of his day in a daze. The two separated not long afterward since Ravi had an “appointment” to go to (“At this time of day?!” HakYeon had shrieked). And TaekWoon never responded to HakYeon’s text, so he had no idea when TaekWoon would be out of work. Plus, he didn’t know how many “appointments” TaekWoon himself had already lined up for that night.

Would he even see TaekWoon again before he left?

Evening was creeping up too quickly. The sun was setting the hotels ablaze again, and HakYeon still didn’t know what to do. He’d lost his appetite from worrying over something he couldn’t quite put his finger on, so he ended up trailing back up to his hotel room, finally resigning to the idea that he’d better start getting his things together and packing.

He’d folded maybe one shirt into his suitcase before he realized he had been staring at nothing for a while. He checked his phone. Nothing. It was just past midnight.

Maybe Ravi was wrong.

HakYeon considered throwing his phone up on the bed so maybe he wouldn’t be distracted, but just as his arm went back, the phone buzzed. He was so shocked that he promptly dropped it into the suitcase.

< I’m coming > TaekWoon had replied.

 _Finally._ HakYeon felt a rush of anticipation, but it was quickly followed with dread. The imminent end was coming. Why was he entertaining this? He was very obviously leaving in half a day. He’d probably never see TaekWoon again once he landed back on Korean soil.

It was another one of those moments where HakYeon only managed to fold one shirt into his suitcase and ended up spacing out so hard that he didn’t even realize so much time had passed before he heard knocks at his door. He jumped, pushing himself to his feet before he could even think about what he was doing. He swung open the door and was half-relieved, half-dreading the sight of TaekWoon on the other side.

TaekWoon seemed to catch on to the anxiety. “I… Can I come in…?”

HakYeon didn’t think of how TaekWoon never needed to ask before. “Of course.” He stepped back.

“Sorry. I went back to my apartment to take a shower before coming here.” TaekWoon flopped onto the bed with a wince.

HakYeon didn’t miss it. “Are you okay?”

Scowling, TaekWoon shook his head, making a feeble attempt to readjust his laying posture. “The last customer I had was a disgusting idiot and made me bottom. I haven’t been bottom since back when I started.”

“Now you remember how it feels,” HakYeon sneered.

TaekWoon only snorted, trailing his eyes to the open suitcase. His expression changed, and HakYeon turned quickly to avoid the sight of it. “What time are you leaving?” TaekWoon asked.

“My flight is in the afternoon. I need to be at the airport by three o’clock.”

“I’ll take you.”

“No, aren’t you working? Taking a taxi isn’t that expensive.”

TaekWoon didn’t reply. A bit fearful, HakYeon glanced over his shoulder and was startled to see TaekWoon staring straight at him. He couldn’t read the expression on TaekWoon’s face, but it most definitely didn’t make him feel better.

TaekWoon huffed. “I’ll take you.”

“… Alright, then.”

HakYeon turned to retrieve a few things from the bathroom. But when he walked back into the room, TaekWoon’s eyes were closed, his breathing slow and steady. _Did he fall asleep that quickly?_ HakYeon dropped the stuff in his hands and crept a bit closer. TaekWoon showed no indication that he felt it.

“Yah. TaekWoon-ah.” No reply. “Are you asleep?”

Now that he was closer, HakYeon could barely make out something on TaekWoon’s neck. No, not hickeys. Some red mark made by something else. It made HakYeon’s blood run cold.

He shook the thought from his mind and reached out to tug on TaekWoon’s jacket. “Yah. Sleep properly. Come on.”

TaekWoon gave out a sullen grunt, but HakYeon persisted, pulling off his shoes and flipping TaekWoon over as he yanked the jacket off. “You’re such a child!” he groaned, throwing the jacket onto a chair by the window. He tried to move TaekWoon again, this time gently pulling on his arm. With enough encouragement, TaekWoon finally lethargically crawled up the bed until his face connected with a pillow. HakYeon clucked like a hen as he attempted to awkwardly pull the blankets over the corpse. He thought he’d finally finished trying to tuck TaekWoon in, pulling back to stand, but a hand quickly latched onto his sleeve.

“Yah.” HakYeon tried to pry the fingers off. “I still need to wash up.” He heard a grumble come from the vicinity of the pillow, the hand insistently pulling HakYeon to the bed. “You brat. If you’re gonna be like this, then let me turn off the lights, at least!”


	6. Saturday

Is it bad that HakYeon was surprised to wake up with all of his clothes still on?

It was the first thing he noticed as he slowly woke up in the early morning. The second thing he noticed was the crown of TaekWoon’s head nestled right underneath his nose. At some point, TaekWoon had thrown an arm over HakYeon’s waist and used his upper arm as a pillow. HakYeon pulled back just the slightest bit, tickled to finally see the rock tumbler peacefully sleeping.

He stopped. Pushed back the blanket.

He was right about those marks.

On TaekWoon’s neck, the tender, red marks had blossomed into blue and purple bruises, ghosted into the form of a hand. HakYeon knew people like that existed, but it was unsettling to actually see it. It made him sick.

He jumped. He didn’t even realize TaekWoon was looking at him, eyes still puffy from sleep. How long had he been awake? Did he know HakYeon had been staring?

TaekWoon gave nothing away, pushing himself up so that they were face to face and throwing his arm around HakYeon’s neck. He let out a small sigh as his eyelids drooped down to close again, and then he was still. Fallen back asleep, maybe.

His hair was a mess. HakYeon noticed the night before that his hair hadn’t dried completely, so it was an amazing mess of a bird’s nest. He reached up to drag his fingers through the strands, maybe because he wanted to fix it. Maybe because he just wanted to touch TaekWoon.

He didn’t stop himself from scooting forward to kiss TaekWoon. He felt TaekWoon’s eyelashes flutter against his cheekbones, and then the arm around his neck tightened, pulling HakYeon closer. HakYeon mirrored the action, closing his arms around TaekWoon so that there was no space left between them.

 _We shouldn’t._ HakYeon licked his way into TaekWoon’s mouth.

 _We can’t._ TaekWoon’s hands wandered underneath HakYeon’s shirt.

_We need to stop._

_Before we get in too deep._

TaekWoon had HakYeon on his back, kissing him senseless. HakYeon’s shirt had fallen into the space between the bed and the wall, maybe; at least, that’s where he thought he saw it go. He thought he had a chance at catching his breath, but TaekWoon was peppering more kisses along his chin, down his neck, across this shoulders. His hand twisted in TaekWoon’s hair when his lips closed around a nipple, a gasp as TaekWoon’s hand slithered down to tease HakYeon’s growing boner. Tongue and fingers continued their abuse. The simultaneous stimulation was too much, HakYeon’s brain overloading from everything.

TaekWoon finally sat back, scooting farther down the bed until his face was hovering over HakYeon’s crotch. He pulled away his sweatpants and wasted no time in taking HakYeon’s dripping member into his mouth.

“ _Shit…_ ” HakYeon hissed, clenching his hands into the sheets. “TaekWoon…”

He just hummed as he licked his way around the shaft, sucking lightly every so often. HakYeon squeezed his eyes shut and tried to force himself to keep his hips in check. An arduous task, especially when TaekWoon hollowed his cheeks to take as much as he could and swallowed around him, and HakYeon almost came immediately just from that. But TaekWoon pulled back again, letting HakYeon fall from his mouth as he pushed himself to stand.

Even though HakYeon’s mind was still buzzing, he could tell TaekWoon’s normal gait was off kilter. He had turned to retrieve lube from the discarded jacket, but his usual swagger was hindered. TaekWoon seemed to pay that no mind, throwing off his clothes within seconds. He was back on the bed again, legs stiffly bending to straddle HakYeon’s legs.

He leaned forward to graze his lips along HakYeon’s cheek. “You know… when that disgusting idiot was fucking me last night…” HakYeon jerked. A lube-slick hand was working its way up and down HakYeon’s dick. “All I could think about was how much I wanted you in me, how I wanted you to fuck me.”

HakYeon groaned. “T-Taek…”

 TaekWoon silenced him with a single kiss. Then he sat back up straight and slowly lowered himself onto HakYeon.

TaekWoon on top is one hot number. But TaekWoon on bottom is no contest. His expression was blown with lust as small, breathy moans fell from his lips each time he lifted and lowered himself. But HakYeon could tell he was struggling. His thighs wouldn’t move as much as he wanted them to, sometimes freezing and straining, and TaekWoon would faintly wince amidst the pleasure.

“TaekWoon… TaekWoon, wait.” HakYeon pushed himself up, and TaekWoon gripped his arms with a low whine. “No, wait. Let me…”

He pulled out – with some opposition – so he could gently flip them over. TaekWoon stared questioningly when HakYeon turned him on his side. HakYeon settled himself between TaekWoon’s legs, pulling one over his hip, and slowly, he pushed into TaekWoon again. TaekWoon’s eyes rolled back and he moaned, grasping at the sheets. Sweat was running down HakYeon’s back as he slowly thrusted, the sight before him incredible. He ran a hand along TaekWoon’s leg, torturously dragging his fingertips along the inside of his thigh. TaekWoon responded with weak moans and whimpers, and he reached one hand toward HakYeon. HakYeon took it, noticing another faint bruise that circled TaekWoon’s right wrist. He leaned in so he could gently press his lips to the pulse point.

“HakYeon…” TaekWoon gasped. “ _HakYeon…_ ”

TaekWoon was pulling him down, his face contorted with desperation. He whimpered when HakYeon pulled out again but pressed TaekWoon’s hips so that he lay against the bed. TaekWoon instantly latched his hands behind HakYeon’s neck and pulled him down to kiss him hungrily. HakYeon swallowed down everything TaekWoon uttered, sliding into him once again. It only took a few thrusts before TaekWoon was gasping again, one hand tangled in HakYeon’s hair.

“HakYeon… HakYeon, harder. _Harder. Please…_ ” he murmured.

“No, TaekWoon.” HakYeon placed a brief kiss to TaekWoon’s neck. “You’re hurt. I can’t…”

“Please. _Please._ ” His panting demands made HakYeon shiver. “ _Please,_ HakYeon… I can take it… I’m _so close…_ ”

Really, HakYeon didn’t know how much longer he would last, himself. He pushed back TaekWoon’s bangs to look him square in the eyes. “You need to tell me if it’s too much, alright? Just stop me.”

TaekWoon nodded dutifully, and HakYeon immediately picked up his pace, pushing up TaekWoon’s legs over his hips. TaekWoon’s eyes were squeezed shut, shallow, shuddering pants falling from his mouth. HakYeon watched him through half-lidded eyes, lust clouding everything in his conscious mind, but he was still mindful, watching for anything that might indicate that TaekWoon was in pain. But TaekWoon was far from it.

“Ah!!” TaekWoon rocked back, his face twisting. For half a second, HakYeon panicked, but TaekWoon clenched hard around him, his nails raking HakYeon’s back. “T-there–!!”

It was too much. HakYeon was losing it. He captured TaekWoon’s lips again as he pressed their bodies close. TaekWoon whimpered, his cock trapped between the two as HakYeon pushed in even harder. He threatened to cry out, but HakYeon swallowed it down. TaekWoon’s inner muscles contracted hard, and TaekWoon came between them, his whole body shaking. The kisses finally broke when HakYeon gasped from the feeling around his member, and TaekWoon was quick to connect his mouth to HakYeon’s neck. He came quickly afterward, spilling deep into TaekWoon.

They didn’t move for a long time, their labored breathing the only evidence of life in the room. HakYeon shifted after a while, carefully pulling out, and he grimaced at the wild mess they had made. He reached up to push back TaekWoon’s bangs again. TaekWoon stirred and searched out HakYeon’s lips, and HakYeon obliged, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of TaekWoon’s mouth. Seemingly unsatisfied, TaekWoon turned his head so that he could meet HakYeon’s lips properly. HakYeon sighed into it, gently carding his fingers through TaekWoon’s hair.

He thought it was sweat, but HakYeon barely opened his eyes and was shocked to see tears rolling down TaekWoon’s face, disappearing into his hairline.

“Yah…!” As soon as HakYeon pulled back, TaekWoon’s hands flew up to cover his face. “Yah, TaekWoon-ah! Pabo-yah!!! I told you to stop me if I was hurting you!” TaekWoon only responded with a frantic shake of his head, his lips pressed together. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry, okay? Are you okay? Come on…”

“Stop it…” TaekWoon hissed. “You’re… It’s not that…”

“Then, what? Come on, TaekWoon.” HakYeon sat up and pulled TaekWoon up with him, prying his hands away from his face. “Tell me.”

His head stayed bowed and his shoulders were hunched, making him look much smaller than he usually did. HakYeon waited as he gathered himself with deep breaths.

“This…” His voice shook, and he took another deep breath. “This kind of life… You’re just trash. You wake up as trash and go to sleep as trash. No matter what anyone says or does, you just feel like trash. And it’s pathetic because we eventually accept that mindset, and we roll with it like it’s nothing, as if it’s as normal as breathing. That’s why I can’t… handle it… when you act like this.”

“You’re not trash,” HakYeon insisted. “TaekWoon, you’re a human being, like the rest of us, just trying to live the only way you know how.”

“Like I said.” TaekWoon curled his fingers into HakYeon’s. “With you, it was easier for me to remember how to be human. I thought it was dangerous, but I got so addicted. The other night, with the wine, I thought, that’s so typical to expect that of me, to assume I’d be in your room that night. And I didn’t want to come off that way. I didn’t want you to see me like that. But the way you were… It’s like you’re so stupidly naïve that these things don’t even go through your head. So I let myself be human. And now I can’t remember how to go back. I don’t _want_ to go back.”

“Then don’t. Just tell DJ that you don’t want to do it anymore.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?!”

TaekWoon slowly shook his head. “You know why.”

“You’ve told me, but I still don’t _understand_! TaekWoon-ah!”

“You need to go get ready.”

His words were short, curt. HakYeon’s mouth snapped shut, taken by surprise at TaekWoon’s tone. He thought of arguing again, but he took just one look at TaekWoon and realized that the rock tumbler was back.

TaekWoon turned away. “You can shower first.”

HakYeon was shut out completely. He was frozen in his spot for a bit, and when he realized TaekWoon wouldn’t turn back around or speak again, he stood and slowly made his way to the bathroom. The fluorescent light was a shock to his eyes. He blinked a few times and caught the reflection of himself in the mirror. The aftermath stared back at him. It took a while before he realized that he could still think.

When he entered the room again, TaekWoon was sitting on the edge of the bed, hands crossed loosely in his lap and eyes staring somewhere much, much farther than the window they seemed to be looking through. His face had no expression, just a blank slate. With the sun getting higher in the sky, it was easier to see the angry swirls of black and blue on TaekWoon’s neck and around his wrist.

HakYeon crossed over and perched on the bed right beside TaekWoon. He didn’t expect TaekWoon to turn or look at him (he didn’t), so he placed a hand on an opposite cheek and gently turned TaekWoon’s head to face him. TaekWoon didn’t get to glare at HakYeon as HakYeon was running a damp hand towel along his face, soaked with warm water and somewhat relaxing to the touch. HakYeon continued, moving from TaekWoon’s forehead, over his eyes, down his chin, and – lightly – along his neck and shoulders.

By the time he was done cleaning off TaekWoon’s stomach, HakYeon had mustered enough courage to speak. “TaekWoon-ah… I want to…” He looked up and wasn’t surprised to see TaekWoon staring right back at him. “Let me buy you.”

TaekWoon’s empty expression gained a little bit of life, but it faded quickly as he slowly shook his head. “No, HakYeon.”

“Jung TaekWoon! I don’t want you to do this anymore! This…” HakYeon took TaekWoon’s right hand, just barely touching the bruise by his wrist. “You don’t deserve this. Please…”

But he just repeated, “No. Cha HakYeon, this is my responsibility. I won’t let you clean up my mess.”

“Why won’t you let anyone help you?”

“Why do you want to help me so much?”

“I…” A lump stopped his words, and HakYeon tried to force it down. “I… I don’t even know why, but I think I like you.” TaekWoon’s hands twitched, still in HakYeon’s grasp. “It doesn’t make sense to me. It hasn’t even been a week since I first saw you and just over 24 hours since I learned your name. I don’t know what you like. I don’t know what you eat. I don’t even know what your favorite color is. All I know about you is coffee and sex, but for some reason, you feel like home. You feel so familiar. It kills me to think that I’ll go back to Seoul by myself without even knowing if I’ll see you again. And the thought of you having to go back to servicing people who do this to you…” HakYeon trailed off. A sudden rush of emotions left him shaking.

TaekWoon remained silent for a while. “To be honest… There are a lot of things I hate about you.” HakYeon’s expression must’ve been horrifying since TaekWoon suddenly smiled, and he hooked his hand around the nape of HakYeon’s neck, drawing their heads together until their foreheads knocked. “I hate how you’re such an idiotic math nerd. I hate that you came looking for me the next day. I hate how when you get flustered, you start stuttering and sound like an even greater idiot. I hate how you don’t know anything about face value.” (To which, HakYeon wanted to argue he worked with numbers all day, so how could he possibly not know about value?)

This time, TaekWoon took HakYeon’s hands in his and pressed them to his cheeks. “I hate your generously meddlesome nature. I hate it when you say my name. I hate how you’re always on the edge of whatever I’m thinking about. I hate how when I felt like I was about to die last night, I was desperately hoping you would save me. I just… hate how I yearn for all of these things. But more than all of that… I hate myself for falling so hard for you. I hate that I can honestly say I love you.”

HakYeon might have been ugly sobbing – he’d never admit it. But TaekWoon was still smiling as he ran his thumbs over HakYeon’s cheeks. “But I still won’t have you paying for my debts. They’re my mistake and my responsibility. I’ll take care of them myself. You can’t buy me, idiot.”

“ _You’re_ the idiot,” HakYeon mumbled sullenly.

“And your face is ugly, but we can’t do anything about either of those things.” TaekWoon took the feeble punch to his midsection, snickering lightly. “But… I decided… I won’t do the prostitute thing anymore. I’ll stick with the menial jobs instead, just for you.”

HakYeon looked up at TaekWoon. “Are… Are you serious?”

TaekWoon nodded. “It’s gonna take me a hell of a lot longer to get back home, though, thanks to you. But… maybe, when that day finally comes… can I find you?”

“I…” HakYeon was shell-shocked. All he could do was stare until TaekWoon flicked him lightly on the knee. “Yes! Of course!”

“But I’ll be understanding if you find some other streetwalker back in Korea before I get there, since that seems to be your type.”

“S-shut up!!”

“Kiss me.”

HakYeon didn’t respond fast enough, so TaekWoon yanked him into his arms and crashed their lips together, the force toppling the two over onto the bed.

HakYeon may or may not have almost missed his flight back home.


	7. Epilogue

It took about a week.

A week for HakYeon to fully recover from his jet lag. A week for him to reorganize everything out of his suitcase. A week for him to catch up with the pace at work. A week for him to build up the nerve to text TaekWoon.

It’s not like he hadn’t before, so there was no reason for him to be so shy, but it was still ingrained in his head that they were still strangers, only one-week old in this odd “relationship” of theirs – if that’s what it would be called. He tried to not think too deeply about how their last hours were basically spent romping and smooching – whatever number round they were on had moved to TaekWoon’s apartment since HakYeon had to check out of his hotel room eventually – but without any promises of contacting one or the other when HakYeon landed. Okay, fine, maybe they didn’t have time in between all of the romping, smooching, and racing to the airport. TaekWoon _did_ basically shove HakYeon out onto the sidewalk so he wouldn’t miss his flight.

He restrained himself for the first few days and focused on trying to be completely normal – normal, as in, he totally didn’t frequently hook up with a prostitute and end up falling in love with said prostitute after a few days. When he returned to work, he greeted his coworkers per usual, saying the rest of his vacation was fine, and he didn’t miss any of them at all. Oh, sure, he took some pictures of when he was out and about.

“OH MY GOD!!!”

“What?!” HakYeon was immediately on high alert. _I DIDN’T TAKE ANY INCRIMINATING PICTURES OF ME AND TAEKWOON, DID I?! … DID TAEKWOON TAKE PICTURES ON MY PHONE?!_

“This is that guy, isn’t it?! That guy from the restaurant!”

HakYeon instantly swooped his phone out of his coworker’s hand, but the rest of his coworkers had gathered in a huddle to look at pictures of the Hoover Dam, and they were very interested in the scandal that apparently had been recorded on HakYeon’s phone.

“WAIT WHAT ARE YOU SERIOUS?!”

“WHOA, CHA-GOON, DID YOU REALLY – ?!”

HakYeon only let out a small sigh of relief. The picture they saw was completely normal; HakYeon had sneaked a picture of TaekWoon looking over the side of the dam while leaning on the handrail. It was one of those moments when HakYeon had first witnessed TaekWoon’s normal self, and he was keen on capturing it.

“Well… maybe,” HakYeon vaguely replied.

The office suddenly erupted with hoots and cat calls. Those who weren’t part of the snooping crew eyed the rowdy bunch over the tops of their cubicles, judging eyes narrowed and confused brows furrowed. It took a higher-rank number cruncher to tell them to shut up and get back to work. HakYeon endured a few high fives and back pats as the bunch filtered away to their desks. Relieved, he hunched over his desk to flip through the rest of his photos, just to be sure there weren’t any other surprises.

He heard a chair roll up next to him. “So you two are a thing now?” HakYeon felt a spike of something drive straight through his spine. “Is he coming home, then?”

“Mm yeah. At some point.” It was the truth, maybe.

It was then that he realized it had already been a week and they hadn’t said anything to each other ever since HakYeon left. The anxiety made his stomach turn. When he got home from work that evening, he toiled over whether he should say something or not, never mind what he would even say. He finally settled on taking a picture of mail addressed to him, writing “1110” right above his address. He sent the picture, wondering if maybe he was being insensitive. Wasn’t TaekWoon trying to escape that life? Did it make HakYeon seem desperate? He worried about what TaekWoon would say in response.

His phone was silent. It stayed silent.

Every day, HakYeon checked his phone. Messages from everyone else came through fine, but the thread with TaekWoon remained blank. Every day, HakYeon grew more and more paranoid. Did he send it to the wrong number? No, that was the thread with TaekWoon; they were texting back and forth before. Maybe someone stole his phone? Plausible.

He lost count of how many days it had been. Even if he looked at the date stamp on his message, he couldn’t focus long enough to figure out how long it had been. Every so often, it would occur to him that it had already been months since he sent the picture.

His coworkers had enough sense to leave the topic alone just from seeing the expression on HakYeon’s face. What expression did he have?

At one point, HakYeon had finally gathered his guts and sent out another text.

< How have you been? >

It was an easy, simple message. He didn’t expect an immediate response, considering the time difference and all. But when he woke up the next morning, the reply on his phone was not one he expected.

< Sorry, you have the wrong number. > The message was written in English.

 _Now what…?_ HakYeon’s head hurt.

Let him sound like a high-school girl, but he honestly couldn’t remember what he was doing with his life before Vegas. Everything just seemed like a black-and-white movie without voices, and meeting TaekWoon in Vegas was an explosion of color and noise. And now, HakYeon was back in that black-and-white movie, and he couldn’t remember how to function in it. Sometimes, in moments of delirium, he wondered if he really even went to Vegas, if it was all just an insane, vivid dream. But no, he set his lock screen to the picture of TaekWoon leaning on the handrail. That couldn’t have materialized out of nowhere. Right?

He couldn’t keep track of how much time had passed. It was November when he was there, right? Where did summer go? Where did winter come from? How is it spring again?

There was some quote from a movie or drama that made its rounds on the internet and in various niches in public. HakYeon never thought much of it until one day when he had stopped by a café on his way home from work to grab a cup of coffee. As he stood off to the side to wait for his order, he spotted the quote again.

[You know you’re over him when you think about him.]

HakYeon stepped out of the café, cup in hand. He thought of a giant chessboard on the ground. He thought of a small café on the side of the Hoover Dam. He thought of TaekWoon.

He trashed the coffee without taking a sip.

A few more days went by. His mother in Changwon called him.

“Oh, HakYeon, I sent you a package!” her voice chirped through the phone.

HakYeon had just arrived at his apartment, toeing off his shoes at the front. “You did? Thank you. When should I expect it?”

“Hmmm I sent it yesterday. Or was it the day before? I don’t even remember. In any case, it shouldn’t take too long to get to you. How are you? Still in the same job?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You sound tired, though. Are you sure you’re okay? Are you eating properly?”

His doorbell rang. “Yeah, I’m fine. Hey, maybe your package is here already.”

“Oh, I hope so. YoungEun sent some melons from the farm, and I worried if they might go bad.”

HakYeon swiveled around and pushed the door open, already tucking his phone in between his ear and shoulder so his hands would be available to sign for the delivery.

There was no delivery boy on the other side.

Looming on the other side of the threshold was Jung TaekWoon.

The two stared at each other for a long time.

“Hello?” HakYeon’s mother’s voice startled him. “HakYeon, are you still there? Did my package come in?”

He cleared his throat. “Ah, no. Hey, Mom, I’ll call you back later.”

He swiftly ended the call before his mother could protest, still staring dumbfounded at the person before him. TaekWoon smiled.

“Can I come in?” he asked quietly.

Even though HakYeon didn’t respond, TaekWoon edged his way in. The door shut behind them, and TaekWoon continued moving forward until he had HakYeon pressed up against the opposite wall.

“T… TaekWoon…” HakYeon’s throat was dry.

TaekWoon kissed him then, soft and slow, their lips just barely touching. He closed his arms around HakYeon and pulled them together, and HakYeon floundered, clinging to the back of TaekWoon’s shirt.

TaekWoon pulled away to look down at HakYeon’s flushed face. “Hi. Sorry. I didn’t even ask if you already have a boyfriend.”

“I-I don’t…” HakYeon stammered.

“Good.” And TaekWoon kissed him again.

They kissed until they ran out of breath. They kissed until they were dizzy. They kissed until the sun was starting to shoot orange through the window of HakYeon’s living room. But HakYeon couldn’t detach himself from TaekWoon’s hold, and TaekWoon wasn’t willing to let go, either.

“You brat.” They’d finally slid to the floor, hands intertwined and a head on the other’s shoulder. “Why didn’t you ever respond to my text?”

“Hmmm about that… I may or may not have lost my phone.”

HakYeon rolled his eyes. “I figured. I trust you didn’t take naked pictures of me.”

“I can’t guarantee that.”

“WHAT?!”

“I’m just kidding.”

“But you must’ve received the picture I sent, right? How else did you find me here?”

“Ravi.”

“What.”

“I couldn’t do the prostitute thing anymore, and I was going through withdrawals, so I needed Ravi – ”

“Jung TaekWoon, I swear, I am going to sever your head – ”

“I’m just kidding. Ravi only does girls.”

HakYeon whacked TaekWoon on the head, and TaekWoon snickered in reply.

“Anyway,” he continued, “ever since I quit with DJ, Ravi claimed he was getting bored since he never saw me anymore, so he was always pestering me to go over for drinks. He’s a nosy shit, and he saw your picture message. Then I lost my phone, and I was pissed that I lost the picture with it, but Ravi has some kind of photographic memory and wrote it down for me.”

HakYeon made a mental note to do something for that kid someday in the future if they ever met again. “So you got a new number.”

TaekWoon hummed. “And I couldn’t remember your number. So I didn’t know how to contact you.”

“If Ravi gave you the address, you could’ve sent a letter.”

“… Ah, I could have.”

HakYeon whacked TaekWoon again. “Idiot.”

He suddenly stood up, pulling on HakYeon’s hand. “Let’s go.”

“Eh?” HakYeon scrambled up after him. “Go where?”

“To eat. I’m hungry. Aren’t you?” TaekWoon was already yanking HakYeon out the door.

HakYeon stumbled while trying to slip on his shoes. “But where are we gonna go?”

“Anywhere.”

They ambled aimlessly through the city, turning down a street whenever they felt like and ducking into random shops that honestly didn’t seem very interesting. TaekWoon took in the city slowly, as if he was finally free from a time capsule and had to scrutinize everything to the finest detail. HakYeon let him, strolling just behind him until TaekWoon would look back to find him and reach out to grab his hand so they could trot to another corner.

Numerous times, TaekWoon caught HakYeon just staring at him. For HakYeon, it was some odd, out-of-body sensation: almost a week of constantly being around TaekWoon followed by a year and a half of hearing absolutely nothing from him – he finally sat back and counted – and to suddenly have him again. Once, HakYeon had reached up to touch TaekWoon’s neck; the angry bruises from the last time HakYeon saw him were long gone. TaekWoon had smiled, taken HakYeon’s hand and pressed his knuckles to his lips. HakYeon instantly blushed, suddenly wary of the fact that they were standing at an intersection surrounded by people. But TaekWoon laughed and pulled him along once the signal light changed.

TaekWoon couldn’t _not_ touch HakYeon. He was always holding his hand or latched to his sleeve, and even when they finally stopped to eat, he purposely bumped knees with HakYeon until the elder of the two jabbed at his shins; TaekWoon conceded by linking their ankles instead.

To be completely honest, HakYeon felt so far away when TaekWoon wasn’t within a hair’s breadth of him.

When TaekWoon was no longer recklessly leading the two around, when he sleepily rested a heavy head on HakYeon’s shoulder, and when he replied with a shake of a head to HakYeon’s question of if he needed to go back, that was when HakYeon linked his arm with TaekWoon’s and led their trek back to his apartment.

He let TaekWoon flop onto his sofa into a heap of arms and legs. A flat hum responded to his offer for tea, and TaekWoon didn’t seem like he’d be moving anytime soon. HakYeon waited a bit, watching as TaekWoon slowly receded to sleep, his arms still thrown above his head in what definitely looked like an uncomfortable pose. Tutting with disapproval, he rearranged the awkward limbs to a more proper sleeping posture. TaekWoon slept on.

HakYeon padded off to shower. He didn’t think much of it, going through all of the motions, and he’d only just begun to lather and rinse when the shower curtain was thrown back.

He may or may not have shrieked like a Marine.

“Y-YAH!!!” It wasn’t a habit of he-who-had-lived-alone-until-this-point to shut the bathroom door behind him. Normally, there wasn’t a shirtless TaekWoon wandering around his apartment. “What are you– Weren’t you asleep?!”

“I heard a shower through an open door,” TaekWoon replied, stepping out of his pants.

If the warm water wasn’t making him flush, surely HakYeon was by now. TaekWoon didn’t give him a chance to protest before he stepped under the spray right next to HakYeon, instantly attaching himself to the wet skin. The thought of objecting died in HakYeon’s mind, and he completely opened himself to it, throwing his arms around TaekWoon’s neck. TaekWoon slid messy kisses all along HakYeon’s neck as he ran his hands up and down HakYeon’s back, coming to a stop on HakYeon’s ass.

“You…” HakYeon gasped. “Don’t waste my water…”

“Then let’s get to the bed,” TaekWoon whispered.

“ _Shit_ , you’re so tight…” TaekWoon hissed, HakYeon whimpering as TaekWoon worked another finger in. “You didn’t do much without me, did you?”

“O-of course not…” HakYeon shuddered when TaekWoon’s fingers barely brushed over that one spot. “I was… All this time, I was waiting for you…”

“HakYeon…”

“I didn’t even realize… that all this time had passed. I kept thinking, ‘He’ll reply. He’ll say something.’ But before I knew it, so much time had passed, and I didn’t even know what I’d done with myself. I didn’t know if something happened to you or you realized I was nothing to go back to, and I was just here like an idiot, waiting only for you, and – ”

He didn’t even realize he was gripping TaekWoon’s arms like a vice, didn’t know TaekWoon was using his free hand to brush at his cheeks, didn’t hear TaekWoon quietly shushing him until he stopped talking and hiccupping.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured into HakYeon’s ear. “I know I’m an idiot. I’m so sorry.”

“I missed you… _I missed you_...”

“I know. I missed you so much.”

TaekWoon took him slowly, kissing him senseless and murmuring nothings into his ear. He took him again and again and seared love into HakYeon’s skin with his lips.

Afterwards, when they were finally sated and boneless, TaekWoon pulled HakYeon tight into his arms, his chest melding with HakYeon’s back as he buried his nose into HakYeon’s hair. HakYeon had enough energy to twine his fingers with TaekWoon’s. TaekWoon leaned forward until he could murmur into HakYeon’s ear.

“ _Thanks for the service._ ”

HakYeon back-handed TaekWoon in the face.


End file.
